Why Mindset is more important than Motivation
Motivate. Motivate. Motivate! There is Motivation Monday. There is an article that I wrote, "Motivation every day! Why limiting Motivation to just Monday's is holding you back." There are songs about Motivation, and it always seems that every meme known to man is dedicated to Motivation. We have social media celebrities showing off, telling us that Motivation is what got them to where they are. There is a job classification called a Motivational Speaker. I say all of that to show that Motivation is all around us. Wherever you turn, there is never a lack of Motivation. So if we are all surrounded by so much Motivation, why oh why do we still feel stuck?
The answer. Drumroll, please. Mindset. You see, without the proper Mindset, being bombarded and surrounded by Motivation and inspiration will not work. You can listen to every motivational speaker around, but if your mind isn't ready to accept the information being provided, the motivational speaking will not affect you.
Motivation without Mindset can be like getting ready for a fishing trip and not being ready for the fishing trip. Well, you may ask how? If you are going on a fishing trip, how can you not be prepared? All you have to do is gear up, show up, put your line in the water, and catch some fish. How hard can it be? Well, let's walk through the entire process. You get up ready to go bright and early in the morning. The night before, you went to bed at an early enough hour that will make it easy for you to wake up and get going. Once you are up, you start a pot of coffee, get some breakfast in your system, and pack up. And what are you packing up to bring? Depending on the fishing you will be doing, you may need a boat, a life jacket, and possibly waders. If you don't catch anything or are fishing just for sport and plan to catch and release, what will you have for lunch? Don't forget that you need a fishing license and a place to fish before you even put poles to water. And while we are speaking about poles, what kind are you going to get. Old school bamboo? A Walmart special, or are you going to head to your local sporting goods store and go all out?
These are just some of the steps taken when a person decides that they will go fishing. And it all started with Motivation. So what difference does it make if you are motivated to fish if you didn't have your Mindset on what is involved even before you show up? Motivation is okay and is like the icing on a cake. But the Mindset is the cake itself and all of the love, knowledge, time, and skill that went into making the cake in the first place. (Side Note for other articles written by me
is that I will ALWAYS speak about love being an ingredient to any good dish that is prepared for a meal!)
To wrap up, please keep in mind that Motivation, while it is in the process of achieving goals. It is not the end-all or be all in the equation of success. There are plenty of other factors like discipline, realistic goal setting, and planning. All are subjects that will be written on in future articles. This one is just a reminder that Motivation is not the only part of your story. Your story must start with a change and or a shift in your Mindset. Motivation without Mindset is like having a goal without a plan. It's just a wish.